Palau president explains his China mistrust
HONG KONG: He leads one of the world’s smallest nations, but Surangel Whipps says Palau will not be bullied by anyone into deciding its future — least of all by China.
Whipps, 52, became Palau’s president after last year defeating an opponent who favoured closer ties with Beijing.
The Pacific nation of around 21,000 people is one of just 15 countries that still recognise Taiwan over China, something Whipps is adamant will not change under his watch despite Beijing’s pressure campaign.
“If we were the last man standing, we should be because Taiwan has been with us from the beginning,” he said via video call this week after returning from a trip to Taipei, where the two allies set up a coronavirus travel bubble for tourists.
Whipps has emerged as the most vocally China-sceptical leader in the Pacific, something he says is forged from both Beijing’s more aggressive stance under President Xi Jinping, and his own interactions with Chinese officials.
“I’ve had meetings with them and the first thing they said to me before, on a phone call, was ‘What you’re doing is illegal, recognising Taiwan is illegal. You need to stop it’,” he recalled.
“You know, that’s the tone they use,” he added.
“We shouldn’t be told we can’t be friends with so and so.”
Whipps said he would often receive calls on his mobile from Chinese officials in the run-up to last year’s elections.
“It would ring for like 16 times. After the elections, I have not taken their calls.”
Beijing has largely opted for the diplomatic stick when it comes to Palau recently. In 2017, China suddenly banned package tours to Palau, a common move to apply economic stress.
That decision, Whipps believes, backfired because it heightened Palauan awareness of Chinese pressure.